Acts 2:1-18        Pentecost           4^th June 2006

Some people can name the day when they fell in love with their spouse, and give details of the events surrounding the time. Other people fall in love slowly. They can think of many special moments but not one specific day.

The same is true for falling in love with God, with Jesus.  Some people can name the occasion they chose to follow Jesus. They can also name the time when the Holy Spirit touched their, very being, in a loving, special, and moving way. The day they fell deeply, in love, with God. Since then, they have felt the loving touch of God’s Holy Spirit on many occasions. But there was one, special day. Other Christians haven’t had such experiences at all. Yet! Some aren’t sure they want too!

Experiences of God’s presence can be unexpected and frightening. In the Old Testament Daniel had a vision, so frightening, the men with him ran off to hide. Daniel says,

“So I was left there all alone to watch this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt, very weak.  When I heard him speak, I fainted, and lay there with my face to the ground.  (Daniel 10:7-9 NLT)

To a bystander, observing or hearing of someone being touched by God, can just seem a very frightening occurrence, something they wouldn’t want to experience.

Have you ever been caught in a Mediterranean storm? Some British thunderstorms are bad enough but elsewhere in the world, they can be really frightening.

Now imagine that the thunderstorm is actually in the room of the house you are in. Then, you see what looks like fire on the heads of other people in the room.

That is the situation, the disciples in today’s passage, found themselves in. I think many peoples’ first conclusion would be to assume, everyone was getting struck by lightening, and they were about to die.

When they hear other disciples speaking in foreign languages, may be, they first thought, “Being hit by lightening has driven them crazy.”  After all, this was the first time any believer spoke in tongues.

But then God filled them all with His Holy Spirit; with a peace and an overwhelming, and exciting sense of God’s presence. Their joy, enthusiasm and general demeanour, made them look, to others, like people who were drunk. Which some of the people outside found offensive. Drunk at 9 am! Really!

Today some people still find it offensive, and sometimes frightening to see people who are being touched by God.

People still also find it is difficult to explain to others, the experience of God’s love that has happened to them.

This can be, because like those outside that house in Jerusalem, the person listening to the explanation, has seen or heard something that has offended them.

The person who was touched by God appears drunk. Laughing, unstable on their feet, collapsed on the floor, very noise or behaving oddly in some other way.

A way that might be socially acceptable, at a late night party, but not at this time and in this place.

If you do ever see something you don’t understand, speak to the person to get reassurance, if not a compete explanation.

But remember, it is difficult to explain something to someone, when it is totally outside the hearers personal experience. For instance it can be difficult to explain the taste and texture of a foreign fruit to someone who has never seen one.

Or just imagine visiting your great, great, grand parents and trying to explain to them, the use of a piece of electronic equipment. Just how the hand controller of your DVD controls both your DVD, and the sound and pictures on your television set say.

Not only would they have difficulty in imagining the products, they have never seen, but they may distrust the appliances and you. I can remember people distrusting washing machines. “I’m not having one of those washing machines, they are dangerous, expensive to run, and I’ve heard they wreck your clothes.”

People may know they have experienced God’s touch in a new and wonderful way, but couldn’t explain it to someone who hadn’t had a similar personal blessing from God.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some, who chose to believe, on that first Pentecost; having seen and heard the first believers, then thought to themselves; “I believe in Jesus but I don’t want any of that”.

“I want to stay totally in control of myself and not speak in foreign tongues”. Or thought,

 “If it makes them happy then that is OK for them.”

When people can’t see anything to be gained, any blessing, by being touched by God; it is their fear and apprehension speaking. It is actually the same caution our great, great grandparents would have had about new fangled washing machines, audio visual appliances and other gadgets.

Washing machines and other electrical equipment were invented by man, and the first users were actually testing them. It takes different lengths of time for different people to TRUST new equipment.

The Holy Spirit isn’t a man made invention. He doesn’t need testing and improving, but people do have to learn how to co-operate with Him. The Holy Spirit can be seen in, God at work in people for the good of all believers.

The question is, “Will you trust, and continue to trust God, and allow His Holy Spirit total control in your life?” On a personal level God’s Holy Spirit can give you -

·   “Life in all its fullness”.

·    You will continue to have problems in this life but God can give you a peace in troubles that passes understanding.

·    He can give you prayer languages so that you can talk to him when you just can’t think of the right words.

·    He can change you in surprising ways. For example from someone who finds the Bible boring - to someone who finds they can’t stop reading it. Their Bible reading fills them with overwhelming joy.

·   He can give you abilities that enable you to encourage and help all other people. Not only obviously spiritual ones, like prophecy but more natural abilities that you personally were not born with.

God has dug a spiritual well for us, but as a man can lead a donkey to a well but can’t make him drink; God won’t/can’t make you drink from his spiritual well. Do desire this spiritual water?

Sometimes people meet with God in meetings with other believers. On other occasions a person knows they have met with God, quietly and in their own home. Others can then tell, something has happened to them, as they are more enthusiastic in their faith.

When we read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life we see that Jesus gave 70 (Luke 10:1 AV) of his disciples God’s Holy Spirit, in the power to heal the sick, and cast out demons.

 In John’s gospel, (20.22) after the resurrection Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Could this 2^nd occasion be the reason they had, the courage, to stay in Jerusalem after Jesus had ascended? He told them to wait there. Wait in the place where their lives were in danger, Jerusalem!

Wait, until the Holy Spirit came to live in them. What difference did the Holy Spirit’s coming this time make?

After the resurrection until this day of Pentecost there were between 120 and 500 real believers. On the day of Pentecost it rose to 3000 believers (Acts 2:4) and shortly after healing the lame man to 5000 men. (Acts 4:4)

Notice, when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, it was for some disciples the third time the Holy Spirit had come to them, and the most powerful.

Shortly after that the disciples prayed for boldness. And guess what, God filled them again with his Holy Spirit to give them the supernatural boldness, knowledge, words to speak, and courage they would, shortly need. This supernatural boldness blessed many others.

Read some of the speeches made by the first Christians in the New Testament. Words of encouragement or prophecy, words of wisdom, and spiritual and theological fact all exceptionally well explained. Look at some of the healings they did when filled with the Holy Spirit. All by ordinary men.

Pray, YOU may be filled with all the fullness of God. Well may be not “ALL the fullness of God” because if you were filled, that much, by God you’d be vaporised.

Just settle for a drop or two. Why are people initially amazed, at people falling down, or laughing, or shaking, when God touches them? Really we should be amazed that they LIVE through it. It shows how much God loves us that we are still alive! . . . .

Have you ever looked at the universe with 60 billion stars in each 60 billion galaxies?  God spoke and each one came into being. So don’t be surprised when God touches you or a person near to you and you fall down.

Similarly if you are in a church service and feeling really close to God, and yet have the urge to burst out laughing, don’t be surprised.

Joy is one of the results of being close to God. The Bible calls ‘joy’ a fruit of the Spirit.

Sometimes you may feel really close to God and joyful at times when you know, it wouldn’t be appropriate to express this joy. On this occasion the joy is a personal gift to you, for the moment, from God. Fortunately, ‘self control’ is also a fruit of the spirit and you may find yourself, joyfully using ‘self control’.

Choose to live your life dependant on God’s will. Learn how to recognise his voice and agree to surrender to his control. . . . .

Imagine you are in a lorry, careering down a hill, with no breaks. That is what life is often like without God in control. You must give up the driving seat to God.

You CAN trust God with your life. He can make a better job of running our lives than we can. Allow the Holy Spirit to come and fill you, and fill you and re-fill you.

Position yourselves before God and wait, wait like the people in the upper room.  You can’t make God fill you with his Holy Spirit, but he wants to. . . . .

Thomas Edison who we have to thank for electric in our homes may not have been a spiritual man, but he had one saying, “Have faith and go forward". He tested over 3000 filaments in light bulbs before finding a practical solution. I’m pleased he kept trying.

The people in the upper room in the passage had been meeting constantly and praying, in a dangerous situation, for fifty days before the promised Holy Spirit fell on them. Don’t give up!

Really desire a heart to heart connection with God’s Holy Spirit, and not just an intellectual admission of his authority. Yes, an emotional connection of love. Emotion isn’t bad, God gave it to you. Using the love and wisdom He has given you; you will be able to go out and bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Continue to hunger and thirst after God. You may have spent two hours with him yesterday but hunger for the same today, and tomorrow. Ephesians 5.18 says,

“Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill you to the brim and control you.” . . . . . .

Many people aren’t satisfied with just one drink of wine; they want to get drunk, regularly!. The Bible rightly says it will ruin their lives. But it also says we should let the Holy Spirit fill us to the brim, constantly, and control us.

With God in control of your life you have nothing to fear, and much joy to gain.